The Mystic Nativity

This is the last religious work we shall look at tonight, the strangest one, in
which Botticelli addresses the mysteries of Christ. It's still the same subject
as before, it's still a Nativity. This masterpiece is one of the most important
one we have seen so far. It is in the National Gallery in London, where it has
been thoroughly studied. Two mysteries surround this painting. On the first
hand, this is the only work which Botticelli signed and dated, the only one of
all the paintings he produced. On top, in five lines of text, he wrote in Greek:
"I, Alessandro Botticelli, at the end of this year, 1501, have..." and it is
thus signed and dated. 1501 is near the year of his death and, if it is signed
and dated, it was to mark the event. On the other hand, it is the strangest
Nativity one could possibly imagine: the cradle is still there, along with the
donkey, the ox, the Virgin, Joseph, the Christ Child, but as for the rest, we
are totally lost. There are no shepherds, no Magi; angels are everywhere, on the
roof, in the sky, on the ground and people - people whom we don't really know,
nor do we know the reason for their presence.

A study of this work, which was long thought to be eccentric, proved to be a
revelation. Botticelli's maturity coincided exactly with the era of what was
perhaps the century's greatest preacher: Savonarola. We must keep in mind that
in the famous Lent sermon in 1499, a few days before Botticelli started this
painting, Savonarola had told the Florentines: "Repent of what you have done,
repent of your sins, distance yourself from the Demon, let yourself be won over
by the angels, the only ones who can bring you to the Savior". This was only the
framework, for Savonarola, as always, used all sorts of more explicit and more
architectonic symbols. And the more we study the sermon and the work, the more
we become aware that the work is, in effect, an illustration of the sermon. The
circle of twelve angels corresponds to the twelve hours of the day and the
twelve months of the year and can be found in Savonarola's words. The presence
of the angels, who represent faith, hope and charity in white, red and green
robes, were named by Savonarola. The angels, the same ones, in green, red and
white, who come to save the humans by pulling them out of limbo, are again from
Savonarola. The expelled demons, and we can see some here and there, are again
from Savonarola. To put it simply, we realize that after a period of very
esthetic Christianity, that of the first Virgins, the first tondos and what
might be called the very social Christianity of the great Adorations, there was
suddenly a signal event in Botticelli's career: the discovery of Savonarola.
Botticelli's most inspired work is The Mystic Nativity, the last work of this
first branch which we wanted to present to you tonight. We shall, moreover, have
the chance, after having admired the pagan works, to see if "Savonarolism" was
very important or only episodically significant to Botticelli, if it does or does not explicate the body of his work.

Details: angess crowned with laurels
because they listened to Savonarola, urged on by the red, green and blue angels
toward the Nativity are the right-hand group. In the center, an astonishing
embrace of this angel and this Gentile,
who are separating from one another, enabling us to clearly see the Devil trying
to slip under a flagstone. A magnificent double movement, nearly a triumphal
arch marking this composition's central focus.